Chapter 41 The Mirror
It was the middle of the night when Natasha awoke. Beside her, Legolas and Aragorn lay quietly, their eyes glazed over in elven reverie, and on his pillow, Kirigan slept soundly. Stretching her senses for what had awakened her, she found only peace in the forest. Shrugging, she tried to settle back to sleep, but gave up after minutes that felt like hours passed by, feeling that something was pulling her. Slipping carefully from the bed, she padded barefoot out of their talan, taking the spiraling staircase down to the forest floor, letting the pull guide her through the forest, until finally she stopped at the top of the stairs leading down into Lady Galadriel's garden.
In the garden below, stood Frodo before the Lady Galadriel. The moon provided the only light to see by, and yet Natasha could clearly see a small fountain to one side of the pair, gleaming water rippling as though it had recently been disturbed. They were speaking in low voices, barely a murmur to Natasha's ears. Frodo held out his hand to the elf-lady, and she approached, reaching for what he held. Natasha caught a glimpse of gold and saw the longing in Lady Galadriel's eyes, and she knew it was the One Ring that Frodo was offering.
"What is he doing?" Natasha wondered to herself, shocked beyond all belief. The fate of the One Ring had been decided at the Council of Elrond…or so she had thought.
She watched as the Lady changed before the frightened hobbit, becoming taller, more beautiful and more terrible in mere moments. Frodo stood his ground, offering the One Ring to her, but finally Lady Galadriel defeated her longing, and returned to herself, turning her back on Frodo and the One Ring. There were more hushed words and then Frodo hurried out of the garden, rushing past Natasha hiding behind a bush.
Natasha watched Frodo until he disappeared among the trees, before she turned back to see Lady Galadriel sink to the ground beside the fountain. Hurrying from her hiding place, she was soon beside the fallen elf, and as she placed her hand on the Lady's shoulder, she was greeted with a small smile.
"Suilad, Natasha." She said weakly. "You have seen me have my triumph over that accursed thing. Long had I desired it, and now, I have passed the test put before me. .Frodo still has the Ring. And now you see she who will return to the West, much diminished and humbled by the courage and sacrifice of a hobbit." She chuckled wanly to herself.
"Humbled perhaps, Lady, but in no way diminished. You are as strong, and regal as you were before this night." Natasha replied as she helped the Lady rise.
"Maybe you are right. But nonetheless I do still have some small power here." Lady Galadriel replied, patting Natasha's hand. "Would you look in my mirror? There are perhaps things that you need to see in it, that no one can say."
Natasha hesitated for but a moment before peering over the lip of the fountain Lady Galadriel indicated with her outstretched hand, her other resting lightly on the small of Natasha's back.
For a few seconds she saw only the reflected stars above their heads. Then the water shimmered and images began to appear. She saw herself, and her brother in the Med-Station, tending to patients. She saw the locals trying to find her after they found the jeep totaled, following the strange tracks leading away from the wreck, but stopped short of the edge of the forest. A few braved the forest but came out very quickly, too frightened by the local legends to go much further.
She saw the dragons. Wreathed in chains, they lay in anguish, no longer able to feel the outside world, to reach out as they had before to her, and to any other that might listen. Their wounds bled openly and their hides bore the marks of many burns.
"I will find you and free you." She vowed, her heart tearing as witness to their torment. And the water shimmered.
Again she saw herself, this time being carried by the orcs and dumped into the clearing where she had first entered Middle Earth, what seemed like many ages ago. There was light and the orcs were no more. But a man she had never seen before stood in their place surveying the damage. He hobbled closer to her, his red robes swirling about his feet. He was dangerously thin and then…he wasn't. Before her eyes, he changed into a tall young man, good looking with silver touching his temples. His robes fit him perfectly and his hands, though still gnarled and bony, were strong, where before they had appeared to be weak and shaking.
Natasha watched as he spoke to her unconscious form, words she could not hear, before he touched the base of her throat lightly, a red dot of light erupting, then quickly fading, and the red-robed one disappeared. The water shimmered.
She was following the path of an oddly colored robin, darkness and dread following wherever it went. Upon closer inspection however, she discovered it was no bird, but an illusion to disguise the red-robed one as he followed Natasha's trail into Lothlorien and watched her through the trees. She heard a gasp and a scream of fury, and she was pulled away from the mirror.
"We cannot let him see anymore than he already has. How could I have been so stupid as to let something as vile as he slip through my defenses! Kirigan!" Lady Galadriel called both in voice and mind, as she pulled Natasha behind her, away from the fountain and farther into the garden.
In almost the blink of an eye, the dragon was hovering over them.
"I heard you waken and followed you." He explained quickly to Natasha. "What has happened?"
"A tracking spell has been alerting another to Natasha's whereabouts. Quite possibly, the one who is holding your kin hostage. He has followed Natasha into the Wood. I can strengthen my defenses but until we remove the spell, he will always know where she is. I require your assistance. Shield my magick from being discovered. It would not do to have our sabotage discovered too soon."
"Easily granted." Kirigan hissed angrily and landed on Natasha shoulders, curling himself protectively around her neck.
Together, the Lady and Kirigan worked as quickly as they could to remove the spell, but in trying to avoid detection, this ended up taking several minutes of intense concentration. By the end, Natasha's neck ached from supporting the suddenly very heavy and heaving Kirigan, and the Lady Galadriel was several shades too pale, and covered in a fine sheen of sweat.
"Here," Natasha said, as she eased the Lady onto a nearby bench, and reaching out with her mind. "Take what you need from me."
"No child." Lady Galadriel said gently, pushing her away. "You will need all the strength you have and more to fight this evil man, if a man he may be called. Here is Celeborn to help me to bed."
And of course, the Lady was right, for Celeborn stood behind Natasha, his face grave and he took his wife into his arms, wrapping a blanket around her.
"You must leave." Galadriel said once she had assured her husband she would be alright. "You must fly from here for I do not know for how long our deception will remain unnoticed. If he comes looking for you here, he must not find either of you."
"But can't I…" Natasha tried to argue, her eyes involuntarily straying back towards the talan she shared with Aragorn and Legolas.
Galadriel's eyes softened and she paused thoughtfully. "Tomorrow, you must go. Say your goodbyes now. Celeborn will see that all is ready for you when you are ready to depart. But do not tarry long, Natasha. We do not know how long our deception will remain unnoticed. How long he will wait before tracking you again. We must take advantage while we may." She paused and caressed Natasha's cheek with the back of her fingers.
"You are very dear to my grandson and his mate, the young prince. If I could keep you from harm by keeping you here until all this is over; if I could somehow spare you this fight, I would without a second thought. But this is your battle, and I believe in you. I will see you again before you depart, but for now, go to them." Kirigan slipped from Natasha's neck into the Lady's waiting arms, and curled into a tired, sleepy ball. He had had the better part of the magick work, shielding was by far the easier of the two tasks, but draining nonetheless. Natasha hesitated, unwilling to leave her pairbond in such a state.
"Go. I will rest with Celeborn and Galadriel. There is still much we need to catch up on. And besides," Kirigan chuffed. "I don't think you'd want me around for all of your goodbyes."
With a tearful smile and nod, Natasha turned and ran out of the garden and did not stop until she had burst through the door of the talan she shared with her lovers.